Top military officials mapped out plans yesterday to integrate women into front-line positions, including spots in the Navy SEALs and other special forces units. The plans follow former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s January decision to lift the ban on women in combat positions. Women make up 14 percent of the 1.4 million active U.S. military personnel. The U.S. Special Operations Command will now examine commando jobs to see which could be opened to women and what exceptions might be

Kanye West’s “Blood on the Leaves” single, released just days after his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, gave birth to the couple’s first child, glorifies abortion and devalues the responsibilities of fatherhood. The song is one of 10 abrasive tracks in the sacrilegiously titled album Yeezus that blasphemes God and degrades women. The title combines West’s nickname, Ye, and Jesus. “Blood on the Leaves” begins with an excerpt from Nina Simone’s song “Strange Fruit,” first sung

Welcome to Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The yellow and blue monolith is one of the largest stadiums in South America and a Brazilian icon, but its brand-new upgrade has much of the country in its biggest uproar since the end of Brazil’s 1964-85 dictatorship. Why? The country has one of the world’s highest tax burdens and some of the worst public services. Hundreds of thousands of protesters see waste in the $3.3 billion Brazil will spend to build or renovate 12 stadiums

Girlguiding UK, a British scouting organization, has “modernized” its pledge—and loving God did not make the cut. The pledge has referenced God since the organization began in 1910. The group last changed the promise in 1994 when “duty to God” became “to love my God,” according to the BBC. Other changes attempted to make the pledge acceptable to people of many faiths. Now the organization has changed it once again to keep girls and parents with no faith at all from feeling

According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, newly graduated teachers are not prepared for the complicated world they are about to be dumped into. The group’s review found the overwhelming majority of schools do not prepare their students for today’s classrooms.  The Council conducted an “exhaustive and unprecedented examination” of education programs. It said they “have become an industry of mediocrity, churning out first-year teachers” without classroom

The White House has announced it will hold talks with the Afghan Taliban starting Thursday. This, though a Taliban spokesman acknowledges, “There is no ceasefire [with the US] now.” Fighters on Tuesday attacked Bagram Air Base, killing four U.S. soldiers. More on sleeping with the enemy: Visa applications for Nigerians Deborah Peter [Wakai] and Vou Ezekiel have again been denied today by the U.S. embassy in Abuja. They are two of three Nigerian teenagers invited to the U.S. this

Republican values? Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the third Republican senator to buck the party’s position on traditional values, posting a message of support for same-sex marriage on her website today. Murkowski said her position is consistent with her lifelong Republican values of “promoting freedom and limiting the reach of government.” Espousing more of a libertarian viewpoint, Murkowski went on to say, “I support the right of all Americans to marry the person they love

As if the slaughter of unborn babies weren’t enough, the pro-abortion lobby wants taxpayers to continue funding the dismemberment for “poor” women. But Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and others are trying to restrict such funding. On Monday, the Republican governor signed into law a bill that bars private insurers in Pennsylvania’s state health exchange, set up under the so-called “Affordable Care Act,” from including abortion coverage. Of course, there’s an exception for

Should ‘best interest’ or the Indian Child Welfare Act determine the custody of a toddler who is 3/256 parts Cherokee?

Renewing America, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations, recently released a report emphasizing the importance of education and the failure of the United States education system to teach its students well.  It cited studies saying educational improvement is the ticket to economic growth, and claimed, “Human capital is perhaps the single most important long-term driver of an economy.” With this backdrop, the researchers found U.S. education in an unhappy state. Decreasing

I have a correspondent in Ohio who was married for almost six decades to his childhood sweetheart before death did them part. In a letter he inquired about a WORLD Magazine column of mine titled “Going first.” He was a bit shaken to hear that I argue with my husband, I being practically a newlywed and all. He asked, “Do you and David really argue? Is it heated as it sounded? Is there anger? Or is it more like a debate team?” I assured my pen pal it was nothing serious and he must

Porn ban. The Pentagon horrified many but surprised few people when it reported last month that since lifting its ban on homosexuality, the number of sexual assaults in the armed services increased to an astonishing 26,000, and that many of the assaults were male-on-male. After all, when you announce “anything goes,” you shouldn’t be surprised when “anything” actually shows up. We have, however, seen one positive outcome: Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus issued a command that all